Minnesota United made it official on Saturday, announcing the transfer of striker and designated player Luis Amarilla to Mazatlan FC in Mexico's Liga MX for an undisclosed fee.
Minnesota United transfers Luis Amarilla to Mazatlan FC of Mexico's Liga MX
The striker totaled 13 goals over three seasons in MLS play.
June 11, 2023 at 12:32AM
His departure opens a DP spot for the Loons to sign a new player, possibly Finnish striker Teemu Pukki, 33, by way of Norwich City in England's second division.
Pukki will play for Finland in this month's Euro 2024 qualifiers starting Friday. The next MLS transfer window starts July 5, but it's possible he could be obtained before then.
Amarilla played in 53 regular-season games, making 40 starts while playing more than 3,500 minutes in three seasons with two different stays. He totaled 13 goals in MLS games.
He originally arrived in 2020, when he told Loons coach Adrian Heath perhaps a little playfully he'd score 25 goals. He scored two in MLS play instead during a season sidetracked by an ankle injury.
The Paraguayan international left after just one season but returned as a DP in 2022, when he was second on the team in goals with nine. He also had five assists and was named to the MLS Team of the Week twice.
Also on Saturday, the Loons signed MNUFC2 midfielder Emmanuel Iwe to a short-term agreement, the made him available to play Saturday night at Montreal. He was designated a substitute.
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
